Wayne Rooney asked to swap shirts – and shorts – after San Marino win

England’s stand-in captain
Wayne Rooney paid a heavy price for netting two goals against San Marino in his side’s World Cup qualifier, as he lost his shorts to a star-struck member of the opposition.

Wayne Rooney made an early bid for one San Marino player’s shirt, not knowing his own shorts would later be up for grabs (Picture: Reuters/ACtion Images)

While it is pretty standard fare for players to request one another’s shirts after a match, giving away other items of attire is entering somewhat uncharted territory.

But one San Marino player was clearly so devastated at being pipped to Rooney’s shirt after last night’s Wembley encounter which the hosts won 5-0, he decided to set a new precedent by asking for the England striker’s shorts.‘I gave my shirt to one of the players and had to give my shorts away as well,’ revealed the 26-year-old. ‘That was a first. It has certainly never happened before!‘It was strange. I’ll be honest, I don’t know what player it was. For them, it is a great opportunity for them to come and play at Wembley in front of 90,000 fans.‘Obviously it was great to captain my country at Wembley. It is a great feeling and a great honour and something I will treasure for the rest of my life.’And England fans will no doubt treasure the fact that the San Marino player at least had the decency to request Rooney’s shorts in the Wembley tunnel, well away from unsuspecting television cameras!